George H. Pride Associate Horticulturist, Arnold Arboretum Harvard University, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130 There are more than 150 active daylily breeders in this country struggling to outdo each other. The raw material these breeders have to work with is enormous and would have astounded daylily breeders of only 25 or 30 years ago. In addition to the basic species colors of yellow an? orange, the range now includes pink, peach, melon, bright red, orange red, dark red, many shades of lavender and purple, brown, near black and those with such a mixture of colors and< ~ades that they are spoken of as polychromes. There are daylilies now so close to pure white that we have stopped speaking of them as "near white" or " off white" this type is 'Creepy Crawler' with has registered over 20,000 cultivars. and are just calling them "white". A very pronounced lacy edges. The first named daylily was 'Ap­ new cultivar named 'Gentle Echo' is A relatively new and striking de­ ricot', which originated in England a good example. Unfortunately for velopment to both the breeder and in 1892. Interest in breeding these northern gardeners, it is an ever­ the gardener is the ever-increasing predominantly yellow and orange green and there may be trouble in number of tetraploid daylilys. Dr. flowers was slow for the next 30 growing it in the north for any Virginia Peck, in the late summer years. Bu.t in the 1930s interest length of time. Also, unfortunately, issue of 1977 of the American Hor­ began to pick up. Still, until the year from many a breeder' s standpoint, it ticulturist, did a masterful job of de­ 1948 only an average of 150 cultivars is a diploid. scribing this daylily's emergence. In a year were registered. For the next A true blue day lily is still missing the tetraploids all the old colors 30 years the average increased to 550 and may be a long way off, but prog­ and many new ones are available, a year. And for the last few years in ress is being made. There are bicolor but their flower size includes some the 19705, the average was over 700 daylilies with strongly contrasting from the miniature and small­ new cultivars annually. This is a flower colors. There are those with flowered range as well as those with staggering number. Obviously the picotee edges. Some have very strik­ . larger flowers. average gardener can buy only a tiny ing " eye zones". The newest depar­ The American Hemerocallis Soci­ bit of the annual output and will ture involves plants with frilly edges ety is the official registry for new have trouble even seeing more than on all their flower segments, like daylily cultivars. Since this society a very few of these new ones. This 'Golden Surrey' and 'Chicago Lav- started in 1946 (then known as the means that the vast majority of new 2 ender Lace' . The most remarkable of Midwest Hemerocallis Society) it Continued on page 40 Far Left-'Tet Set' Left-'Little Hustler' Above-'Something Else' Below-'Far Out' 3 Rachel Snyder Editor, Flower and Garden Magazine " EverywhereJ as far as the eye could is well known. In keeping with the reach , there was nothing but rough, timelessness of expanses where they shaggy , red grass, most of it as tall as grow, many species do not respond I. As I looked about me I felt that quickly to a gardener's touch. the grass was the country, as the Nevertheless, ample motives water is the sea. " beckon us to learn how to grow and -Willa Cather, "0 Pioneers" use them. One motive is prairie res­ torations, being attempted now in There was no word in English for many botanical gardens and in pri­ the broad grasslands found in the vate and public projects. Another vast interior of North America by motive is to have /I ecology lawns," a the exploring Europeans. These practical idea for swards that main­ were an entity unknown to the tain themselves in reasonable order English-speaking world, so we without much mowing or care. adopted the name used by early Another motive, with farmers, is the /', French adventurers-I! prairie. I! It valuable hay crop prairie grasses of­ means meadow. Today, ecologists fer. To the flower arranger, many of may define a prairie wordily and in these grasses are quite beautiful various ways, but the main idea is a either fresh or dried, and some of treeless expanse dominated by na­ them are appropriate subjects for tive grasses. flower gardens. To soil conserva­ Many broadleafed plants, called tion, highway and park planners, forbs, co-exist with grasses in a the prairie grasses offer soil stabiliz­ prairie, and until now these have ing, conservation and low mainte­ had more attention from gardeners nance capabilities, plus perma­ than the grasses. Phlox, goldenrods nence. and asters are three popular groups Permanence is one of their great of garden flowers with strong charms. prairie origins. Finally now the For all we know, a sod of undis­ grasses seem to be winning a more turbed big bluestem may be as old proper share of horticultural recog­ as the patriarch 4,900 year bristle­ nition. Perhaps recent efforts (still cone pines in California's White unfulfilled) to save a portion of the Mountains, often cited as the most fast vanishing tall grass prairie in a venerable living things. The grasses national park or preserve, have con­ owe their endurance through dif­ tributed to the growing interest. species. Agrostology, the branch of ficult times to deep and efficient This recognition was under­ botany dealing with grasses, is an roots and their habit of retreating standably slow in coming. An edu­ arcane science to the layman. Be­ into dormancy when conditions cated eye and brain are needed to yond the botany and into the hor­ make growth untenable. 4 distinguish the different grass ticulture of prairie grasses, even less Two threats they cannot with- stand are the plow and encroaching grass (Buchloe dactyloides). In this August to October is a graceful, del­ trees. The tree threat deserves more group the last-named is a misfit in icate, softly bearded affair borne in consideration than it usually gets, in the tallgrass group because it sel­ racemes alternating or spiraling up relation to preservation of prairies. dom grows over five or six inches the branching stems. The reason for Since wind driven fires no longer high (if that) but it is being widely the common name " bluestem" for sweep prairie regions to clean them tried in the Great Plains as a lawn both this and big bluestem is pre­ occasionally of infringing trees, a grass that needs no watering and sumably the frequent bluish cast in prairie may be as surely destroyed only seldom mowing. leaf blades and stems. Sometimes by overtopping forest as by plow. Of the first six, all but western the blades are tinged purple. Start This possibility is particularly great wheatgrass are warm season seeds of this for a garden in the same in the more humid eastern, or grasses, starting to green up only manner as described for big blue­ tallgrass, prairies. after the soil warms in spring. They stem. If you have a piece of prairie to burgeon into vigorous growth Indiangrass (Sorgh astrum nutans) preserve, and cannot use fire, you through the peak of summer heat. is the equal of big bluestem in must resort to tree riddance by ax Sideoats is earliest of these to reach height (to six feet by September, and by herbicide. But these will not maturity, usually by early August. when it matures). It surpasses it in have the purifying effect of fire . On By late summer the rest have shot up beauty of the wand-like seed stems, the other hand, if you grow prairie their flowering stems or "culms," which slightly resemble cultivated grasses close to combustible quickly transforming into seeds­ sorghums, although they are more buildings,·be alert to the fire hazard and these stiff wands will persist, graceful. It forms a clump with short they present, for in dry winter con­ unless mowed or grazed off, until scaly rhizomes growing steadily dition, a clump of bluestem, switch early the next spring. By then most outward. The foliage is rough to or indiangrass will burn like a torch. will have broken over from the touch but refined in appearance, From over the hundreds of rigors of winter, and the seeds will and after frost it turns yellow­ thousands of square miles of origi­ have·been shed. orange. For gardens, plant this as nal prairie (much of the Midwest) Big bluestem (turkeyfoot) (An­ described for big bluestem. there have been described around dropo gon gerardi) is usually consid­ Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) 300 species of native grasses. From ered the backbone of tallgrass represents a very large genus that these, six or seven individual prairies. It grows robustly, easily to botanists consider difficult. It has a species have emerged as a basic first six feet where moisture is plentiful, lot of weedy annual relatives, but group for ventures into horticulture. and in August a man on a horse this perennial Panicum is fairly easy Giving credit where it is due, the could vanish into a prairie of it. It to distinguish by its lacey, delicate Soil Conservation Service of the grows in a tufted fashion with stout seed panicles up to five feet tall on U.S. Department of Agriculture has rhizomes that reach out and estab­ stout erect stems growing out of led the way for about 40 years in test­ lish a sod.